Any great deals out there? City bike (large)

BoardsMember · 31-03-2026 01:20PM #1

In the past I bought really nice road and mountain bikes with some great advice here - specifically links to bikes on sites that don't typically come up high in search results. One was a UK bike shop with some great deals.

Soooo.....I'm replacing my 20+ year old Specialised and was wondering if the good people on Boards.ie might have any ideas for where to shop. Looking for a light/nimble city bike. Circa 1k.

magicbastarder · 31-03-2026 01:35PM

when you say city bike - you mean mudguards/panniers etc., included?

what model is the specialized?

BoardsMember · 31-03-2026 01:41PM

Ideally mudguards, but I'd go for something without and fit clip ons.

The Specialised is a Crossroads I think its called. It needs a lot of work, and I think its time to upgrade.

I was looking at something like a Scott Metrix EQ. But very open minded.

magicbastarder · 31-03-2026 02:06PM

i know a couple of people who use belt drives for their commuters, and i know at least one of them swears by it; so worth a look, probably.

CramCycle · 31-03-2026 02:30PM

Looking at the Scott, I'll use that as the minimum standard, so Alu, no heavier than 12kg, no suspension, minimum Claris, hydraulic brakes, €1100 budget.

Giant Escape 2: Ticks all those boxes, €800, lots of shops will have it in stock so you can get it from an LBS

Rose Hobo Deore: €1100, ticks all boxes, nice wide tyres for speed and comfort, different colour schemes, have to order from Germany though

Cube Nulane Pro: €1150, ticks all bokes, internal cable routing, not a dark colour scheme

Cube Hyde: €830, heavier than the Scott but has a triple for a fairly wide gear range if you take to the hills a bit.

Stevens Strada Gen 2 : €1100, ticks all the boxes, better gears than the Scott

BoardsMember · 31-03-2026 02:36PM

Thanks @CramCycle much appreciated, that's a good list. The road bike i have is a Rose but I think I'll want to test ride for geometry comfort.

Don Juan II · 31-03-2026 03:11PM

I couldn't recommend a belt drive strongly enough for a commuter.

I have this bike, genuine sale at the moment too.

https://www.halfords.ie/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-urb-8.9-urban-hybrid-bike-2021---s-m-l-frames-426918.html

I have it exactly 2 years, hasn't missed a beat. No service required and I cycle it multiple times every single day.

I cut 2 cm off the handle bars and swapped the grips before selling my old bike. Also too the stem off my old commuter. Feels much more nimble now.

Also fitted permanent mud guards and a rack.

I bought on bike to work.

If I had to replace it in the morning, I'd buy the exact same bike

BoardsMember · 31-03-2026 05:05PM

Thanks @Don Juan II that looks pretty enticing. I hadn't thought of a belt drive but looks a no brainer from a low service/maintenance perspective.

CramCycle · 01-04-2026 10:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124353477#Comment_124353477

Good spot, also lighter than a few of the ones I posted, and if you are an AXA customer (or a friend is) you can get another 10% off the discount price, bring it down to €810.

magicbastarder · 01-04-2026 10:50AM

i suspect they might have a 'cannot be combined with any other deals' condition on the sale price.

CramCycle · 01-04-2026 11:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355282#Comment_124355282

Whether they should or should not, they often will apply it in store, computer does not seem to stop them in most scenarios.

BoardsMember · 01-04-2026 11:25AM

Have u good people used an AXA code at website checkout or it is only at the counter in the store? I'm not with AXA so am asking mates if anyone of them is, an extra 10% would be lovely.

CramCycle · 01-04-2026 11:48AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355368#Comment_124355368

I done it in store, but it was with items I had ordered for collection, not previously paid for, so they applied the discount after the fact.

magicbastarder · 01-04-2026 12:05PM

did they care whether your name matched the name on the policy?

CramCycle · 01-04-2026 12:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355473#Comment_124355473

Never looked,

cletus · 01-04-2026 03:10PM

They've clamped down substantially on the AXA card thing. I've been using the same one for years, they barely look at at, but I was in a few months ago, they asked to see it, told me it was out of date, and that they wouldn't apply the discount. Obviously this might be stored dependent.

CramCycle · 01-04-2026 03:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124356071#Comment_124356071

My local one applied without even asking the last time. AXA didn't supply me with a card, but there is apparently now a webpage for AXA benefits you just log in and show to them. This said, Carrickmines a few years ago said no to me when I went out and got the disc from my car, so I would say it is very store and potentially specific worker dependent.

youtheman · 01-04-2026 03:43PM

Do you have to factor in the risk of the bloody thing getting robbed in broad daylight?. The cross over point between 'not worth robbing' and 'guaranteed to robbed' is so low now that it takes all the joy out of having a nice city bike!.

BoardsMember · 01-04-2026 06:13PM

I'm going to keep my old bike for when leaving in city centre and not in a supervised car park. Otherwise I won't let the scumbags win, I will have a new bike!!

Any great deals out there? City bike (large)

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